Project Areas: Child Sponsorship: Our Field Organizations
The Child Sponsorship Program is designed to offer members and friends of the Apostolic
Christian Church an opportunity to be directly involved in the lives of children that are born in economically distressed areas of the world. A small monthly donation will allow a sponsored child to attend a Christian school where he will learn, perhaps for the first time, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sponsorships are focused on the poorest of the poor. Those who would otherwise be unable to gain an education, or could only do so at great hardship to their family are participants in the program.
- Haiti
Sponsorships in Haiti offer the option to sponsor individual children or an entire school. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and the needs are great. Most of the schools provide a hot lunch program, with a large bowl of rice and beans providing the main source of nutrition for some of the children. Click here to view the picture book.
MEBSH
As you can see in the history section, MEBSH was among the first organizations the Child Sponsorship program began working with. Based out of Les Cayes, the MEBSH Child Care 
program is helping to reach many children and schools in Southern Haiti. All of their schools are operated by the MEBSH Church, and the Carribean Committee is involved in helping to build desks and put roofs on schools. Many work team members are familiar with the director of the program, Marie Lucie Jeune. Sponsorship rates start at $25 per month, increase to $30 for Grades 7-10 and $35 for Grades 11 - 13. Students in University programs and Trade schools may also be sponsored, and the rate varies depending on the program.
Living Word
Living Word was also one of the first programs to be added. Patrick and Barb Lataillade oversee schools in Puits Sales, La Hatte, Mayette, Zabo and Boucan Mouran. In addition to child sponsorship, they attempt to provide basic health care and spiritual leadership to the communities. Each of their schools are located next to a church.
- Jamaica
We currently work with two organizations:
Carribean Christian Centres for the Deaf (CCCD)
Jamaica has an estimated 2,500 deaf children, and many of them have never been exposed to 
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have little opportunity for education. Child Sponsorship has been working with CCCD since 1997. In 1999 there were 66 sponsored children, and in August 2006 there were 117. The schools that CCCD has established in Kingston, Knockpatrick, and Montego Bay give these children an opportunity to receive a Christian education, learn to communicate through sign language, and have the hope of becoming a useful and productive citizen better prepared to care for themselves in their adult years. Contributions provide the child with housing on the school campus, uniforms, food, clothing, and medical care during the school year. Each child in Jamaica needs $150 per month to provide for their education. Since this amount can be prohibitive for an individual sponsor, we have set the support at $25 per month, and each child is assigned 6 sponsors.
New Beginnings International Training Center
In 1986, Bob and Mary Holland were burdened for the boys they found in Jamaica who were living in the streets or in difficult circumstances. They have founded a school and training center in the Montego Bay region where about 25-30 boys receive Bible study and instruction, academic education, and health and dental care. The goal is to set each boy on the proper path to reach his full potential in God as the staff ministers to their bodies and souls. Some of the boys have stayed on as mentors and counselors to the younger ones. Some are in the program for a few years and then return to their families. The sponsored boys will receive $25 per month to help with their school expenses.
- Mexico
Magdalena
The Child Sponsorship Program has supported the orphanage from the beginning, and continues to support a number of students in Magdalena. The World Relief Mexico Committee has oversight of the campus. For further details about the orphanage click here. Or see our Picture Book.
Juarez
The AMMAR School is located in Juarez, just across the border from El Paso, Texas. The students move in and out of the school in this transient area. Some stay for a short time until their parents, who come from the countryside, find work in a different area and other students stay for a longer time when the parents find work in the AMMAR area. During their time at the school, the students are taught the Gospel message.
The Child Sponsorship Program provides sponsorships for about 100 students. The Field Office for AMMAR is managed by members of our Bluffton Church. For more information on the ongoing work in Juarez, click here.
Ixtlan
For a number of years, sponsors have supported the students associated with the Ixtlan church. A new Christian School is being built to serve this community. The Apostolic Christian Missionary Board has oversight of this campus.
- Guatemala
Community of Faith School
The Child Sponsorship program in Guatemala was started with the help of missionary friends,
and the Association of Christian Schools Internation - Latin America (ACSI-LA). The Community of Faith (CoF) school was chosen because the students come from a very poor area and have minimal or no positive family interactions.
The students come from an area in Guatemala City along an old railroad track with shacks along both sides. The students are not allowed to take any books home from school because the parents would sell them to support their sinful habits!
The school doesn't have any facilities of their own, so they meet in the afternoon in the maintenance shed of another school that meets in the morning. The morning school does not want to be in contact with the CoF students, who are looked down upon by community members.
The school continues to grow, and has about 240 students. They are looking for a facility of their own to be able to expand their classes and continue serving needy students.
San Antonio School
In January of 2006, the Child Sponsorship Committe visited a second school in Guatemala. The school is located in San Antonio, a small Mayan Indian village in the mountains near Antigua. In late 2006, the Committee decided to start sponsorships at this school. There are only a few students currently being sponsored, but more are waiting for Sponsors.
An encouraging note about the San Antonio school is that the parents, though very poor, are very involved and supportive of the school.